The global IT consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture has settled a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice, which accused the vendor of having received kickbacks for recommending certain vendors'hardware and software to government agencies, inflating prices and rigging contract bids.

Accenture agreed to pay about US$63.7m to the government and continued to deny the allegations. The company reported $21.55bn in revenue for fiscal 2010.

"Accenture continues to vigorously deny that there was any wrongdoing," Accenture said in a statement. "The US federal government was aware of alliance relationships in the IT industry and how they would benefit customers, vendors and the IT industry."

The company said its agreements with IT vendors had been disclosed in proposals it made to government clients, and details of how IT-industry alliances worked had been "widely reported in industry press."

Tony West, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Division, said kickbacks and bid rigging undermined integrity of the federal procurement process.

"At a time when we're looking for ways to reduce our public spending, it is especially important to ensure that government contractors play by the rules and don't waste precious taxpayer dollars," he said.

The lawsuit was filed under "whistleblower"provisions of the federal False Claims Act. The provisions allow private individuals to file lawsuits on behalf of the government and receive a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or a fine awarded against the defendant.

Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered about $7.5bn through False Claims Act cases.